George Emerson Leach (July 14, 1876 – July 17, 1955) was an American politician who served as a major general in the United States Army and two-time Republican Mayor of Minneapolis.
Early life George Emerson Leach was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on July 14, 1876,United States Coast Artillery Association, Coast Artillery Journal, Volume 75, 1932, page 54 and was raised in Minneapolis. He attended Central High School in Minneapolis. After graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1897,The University of Minnesota, The Gopher: Annual Publication of the Student Body of the University of Minnesota, Volume 33, 1920, page 227 he began a career in insurance.Marion Daniel Shutter, History of Minneapolis: Gateway to the Northwest, Volume 2, 1932, page 226
Career
Military In April 1905, he was commissioned as a Second lieutenant of Field Artillery in the Minnesota National Guard.Minnesota Adjutant General, Annual Report, 1905, page 166 Leach advanced through the ranks of the military in command and staff assignments. He graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1916.Minnesota War Records Commission, Commission Publications, Volume 2, 1924, page 376 In 1916–7, he saw active duty on the United States–Mexico border during the Pancho Villa Expedition; first as a Major, and later as Colonel and Commander of the 151st Artillery Regiment.Utica Daily Press, Leach to Head National Guard, November 14, 1931
During World War I, Leach commanded the 151st Field Artillery Regiment, a unit of the 42nd Infantry Division. He took part in battles at Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne.George E. Leach, War Diary, 1923, Title page Leach remained in command of the 151st Field Artillery until November 1921, after which he returned to the insurance business as manager of the St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company.Northwest Insurance magazine, Candidate for Governor, Volume 36, 1938, pages 22–23
In 1923, Leach was promoted to brigadier general as commander of Minnesota's 59th Field Artillery Brigade.Minnesota Adjutant General, Annual report, 1923, page 4 In 1931, he was appointed Chief of the National Guard Bureau and was promoted to Major General.New York Times, Gen. G.E. Leach Heads Army Militia Bureau, November 14, 1931 He served in this position until 1935, after which he returned to command of the 59th Field Artillery Brigade, reverting to his permanent rank of Brigadier General.National Guard Bureau, Annual report, 1938, page 8 Later in 1935, he was forced to bail out of a burning US Army airplane during a flight from Washington to California. He wandered through Arizona wastelands until he found someone to lead him to safety. As a result, he became the highest ranking official at the time to become a member of the Caterpillar Club, an informal organization of aviators whose lives have been saved by an emergency parachute jump. In 1937, he was elected President of the National Guard Association of the United States.New York Times, Guard Elects Mayor Leach, October 31, 1937
From 1940 until his retirement in 1941, Leach was commander of the 34th Infantry Division, again receiving promotion to Major General. Under his command the division was activated and began its initial preparations and training for entry into World War II.John H. Hougen, The story of the famous 34th Infantry Division, 1949
After the war, Leach operated a vending machine company, George E. Leach, Inc., and was Chairman of the National Automatic Merchandising Association.Billboard magazine, 11 Operators Seek Part in Canteen Case, October 4, 1947
Political In June 1921, Leach was elected Mayor of Minneapolis.New York Times, Townley Radical Beaten: Minneapolis Election for Mayor Returns Conservative Candidate, June 14, 1921 He stood for election as a conservative, and was re-elected in 1923.New York Times, Leach Re-elected Minneapolis Mayor, June 13, 1923 During his second term, Leach's opponents accused him of being a communist because he opposed private ownership of a hydroelectric dam on the Mississippi River.David M. Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan, 1981, page 149
At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was growing in Minnesota within the ranks of several fraternal orders, primarily the Masons and Shriners. Leach was a member of several such organizations, and the Klan initially regarded him as a de facto ally but later considered him an adversary because he had appointed a Catholic as his secretary and had dined with the Knights of Columbus. The Klan also disliked Leach because he prevented police officers from joining the Klan and because he launched an investigation into Klan activity at the University of Minnesota. The KKK fielded its Exalted Cyclops, Roy Miner, as a mayoral candidate against Leach in 1923. Miner campaigned on elimination of illegal gambling and vice, which he said Leach abetted. The KKK found a woman in a local jail who said she had had an affair with Leach, and publicized this in an effort to enmesh Leach in a scandal.Chalmers, Hooded Americanism, pp. 150–151 A grand jury decided the story of the affair was criminally libelous. The case went to trial; Floyd B. Olson handled the prosecution against five KKK leaders.John Beecher, Tomorrow Is a Day: A Story of the People in Politics, 1980, page 189 The witness said she had lied about Leach, who denied both the affair and the charges of protecting vice and gambling. The all-Protestant jury found the defendants guilty and sentenced them to prison.Kenneth T. Jackson, The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915–1930, pages 161–162 Leach won a landslide re-election against the KKK's stand-in for Miner, Senator William A. Campbell.Kenneth T. Jackson, The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915–1930, 1992, pages 161–162
In 1926, Leach was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor. He was re-elected mayor in 1927,New York Times, Minneapolis Re-elects Leach Mayor, June 15, 1927 but was defeated for re-election in 1929.Herbert Lefkovitz, New York Times, Leach's Landslide Held Spectacular, May 16, 1937 In 1937, he was again elected mayor.Chicago Tribune, , June 16, 1937 He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Minnesota in 1938.Christian Science Monitor, , June 21, 1938 He was re-elected mayor in 1939,New York Times, Minneapolis Re-elects Leach, June 14, 1939 and served until 1941.
Amateur sports affiliation Leach was an avid skier. In 1924 he managed the U.S. Olympic Ski Team,Christian Science Monitor, , January 16, 1924 and he was the National Ski Association's representative to the 1924 convention which led to the creation of the International Ski Federation.U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum, Honored member page, George Emerson Leach, accessed April 16, 2013
Death Leach died in Los Angeles, California on July 17, 1955.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Deaths Elsewhere: George Emerson Leach, July 19, 1955 He was buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Section D.S., Site 65-N.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Nationwide Gravesite Locator , entry for George E. Leach, accessed April 16, 2013
Awards and legacy Leach's awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal and Purple Heart in addition to other service and achievement awards.National Guard Bureau, Biographical sketch, George E. Leach, accessed April 16, 2013 The George E. Leach Range and Leach Avenue at Camp Ripley, a Minnesota National Guard training facility, are named for him.Minnesota National Guard, Memorializations at Camp Ripley , 2010, pages 4, 6
Leach was posthumously named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.New York Times, Five Named Posthumously To U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, February 13, 1969
Ribbon bar
1st RowDistinguished Service CrossArmy Distinguished Service Medal 2nd RowPurple HeartMexican Border Service MedalWorld War I Victory Medal w/ three battle claspsArmy of Occupation of Germany Medal3rd RowAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalMinnesota Medal for Merit4th RowOfficer of the Legion of HonourFrench Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with Palm and StarCommander of the Order of the Crown of ItalyKnight 1st Class of the Norwegian Order of St. OlavAssociated Press, Reading Eagle, Leach Placed at Head of National Guard, November 13, 1931Sons of the American Revolution, The Sons of the American Revolution Magazine, Volumes 50–53, 1955, page 12
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